The UK will very likely be the biggest solar photovoltaic market in Europe in 2014, according to the new NPD Solarbuzz UK Deal Tracker report. The dominance will be largely fueled by big growth in ground-mounted solar PV projects this year — over 120 large-scale solar PV projects in the region have been approved, many of which will be completed before the end of the year. “In the past six months, the Department of Energy and Climate Change released the United Kingdom’s ‘Solar PV Roadmap’ and ‘Solar PV Strategy’ reports, restating aspirations to hit 20 GW of cumulative capacity by 2020,” stated Finlay Colville, vice-president at NPD Solarbuzz. “While reaching the long-term goal is expected to involve a blend of rooftop and ground-mounted systems, solar PV farms above 10 MW will provide the dominant contribution in 2014.” To explain how rapid the growth is, consider this — to date, over 325 solar PV projects in the MW class have been completed in the UK; of these, more than 60 possess an installed capacity of over 10 MW. Now, consider the fact that over 444 large-scale, ground-mounted solar PV projects are currently at various stages of development. Brings the point home, doesn’t it? Of these 444 pending projects, 124 have already been approved and will be aiming to complete installation “before the level of support under the Renewable Obligation scheme is reduced in April 2015.” “With the UK projected to be the largest solar PV market in Europe in 2014, global component suppliers and project developers need to quickly understand the dynamics of the UK solar PV industry,” noted Colville. “Aligning with suitable partners and choosing the most attractive PV projects in the pipeline will ultimately determine the winners and losers over the next 12 months.”